Bruised egos cause problems for Blair

When Michael Howard spoke of the "crunching of gears" in Tony Blair's EU U-turn he could equally have been describing the sound of prominent noses being put out of joint.

The political somersault made fools of some senior ministers who only weeks ago were scorning such a move, and enraged many pro-Europe allies. While the Cabinet now has no choice but to be united in public, the bruised egos cast a question over whether Mr Blair will be able to assemble a "Big Tent" campaign crossing the party divides by the time the referendum campaign gets under way.

In the Cabinet, Charles Clarke is said to have been left out of the talks until a late stage. Commons leader Peter Hain, used by Mr Blair to dismiss speculation time and again, is said to have found out about the Uturn only after it first leaked to the Press. Europe Minister Denis MacShane was apparently in the dark until even later.

Mr Blair will no doubt rally his troops. But he has left some of his closest allies feeling bruised and fed-up.